The present invention relates to a nursery instrument based on medical criteria for a baby in neonatal infancy, infancy and childhood, and more specifically, it relates to the structure of a nursery instrument enabling protection of the respiration of a baby.
It is most important for a nursery instrument that the same is excellent in safe performance and comfortableness for a baby. Particularly for a baby in neonatal infancy or infancy having a still undeveloped brain, it is remarkably important to protect not only the brain and the neck but also respiration.
A structure required to a nursery instrument based on medical criteria for a baby is now described. A baby, readily regarded as a miniature adult, is so immature in various functions for staying alive that mistreatment of the baby may result in an aftereffect. If an external impact is applied to the baby by a traffic accident or the like, for example, the head of the baby is more readily shocked than the remaining body regions due to the relatively heavy weight of the head and the weak muscles of the neck supporting the head.
Further, the cranial bones and the cerebral blood vessels protecting the brain of the baby are still insufficient in structure and function. An uprightly held baby under the age of one, particularly up to six months after birth, may be vertically dandled, while it may have an attack of cerebral hemorrhage resulting in an aftereffect or even in death if strongly shaken back and forth.
Also in daily life receiving no external impact, it is important not to inhibit the baby, making abdominal respiration by swelling its abdomen, from swelling the abdomen (not to seat the baby in an L-shaped posture, for example). Even a healthy baby readily congests its nose, and there is a possibility of resulting in an oxygen depletion state (a state where percutaneous oxygen saturation (SpO2) is reduced) when the baby is laid prone or in a posture pressing its abdomen. In this case, abrupt cardiac standstill may conceivably result.
In consideration of the above, it is important to lay a baby under the age of six months on its back, not to press the abdomen. The aforementioned physiological characteristics still remain in an active baby exceeding the age of sixth months, and it can be said preferable to lay the baby on its back when it sleeps.
In a nursery instrument such as a child seat or a baby rack, therefore, it is an extremely important function for protecting a baby to render a bed face state selective and have a structure capable of selecting only the bed face state until a constant period elapses after birth of the baby in order to protect the baby in true meaning and to protect not only the brain and the neck but also respiration of the baby in due consideration of such biological characteristics of the baby.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a nursery instrument having a structure capable of protecting a baby in several respects and particularly a baby""s respiration.
In order to attain the aforementioned object, the nursery instrument according to the present invention is capable of selecting a bed face state substantially flattening a seat portion and a backrest portion and a seat face state uprighting the backrest portion, and comprises selection means enabling employment in the bed face state and disabling employment in the seat face state.
Such selection means enables selection of only the bed face state until a constant period elapses after birth of a baby, whereby the nursery instrument regularly provides the bed face state to the baby in this period, not to press the abdomen of the baby.
Consequently, it is possible to avoid an oxygen depletion state (a state where percutaneous oxygen saturation (SpO2) is reduced) and abrupt cardiac standstill resulting from the oxygen depletion state (the state where percutaneous oxygen saturation (SpO2) is reduced) without preventing abdominal respiration of the baby, for protecting the baby in true meaning.
In order to carry out the aforementioned invention in a more preferable state, the following modes are employed:
The aforementioned nursery instrument comprises locating means provided on the aforementioned backrest portion for locating the aforementioned backrest portion on the said seat portion, a first engaging portion provided on the aforementioned seat portion for engaging with the aforementioned locating means to form the bed face sate substantially flattening the aforementioned seat portion and the aforementioned backrest portion, a second engaging portion provided on the aforementioned seat portion for engaging with the aforementioned locating means to form the seat face state uprighting the aforementioned backrest portion, and an intermediate engaging portion provided on the aforementioned seat portion for engaging with the aforementioned locating means to attain inclination in an intermediate stage between the bed face state and the seat face state. Further, the aforementioned selection means enables only engagement of the locating means with the aforementioned first engaging portion, and disables engagement with the aforementioned second engaging portion and the aforementioned intermediate engaging portion.
On the other hand, the aforementioned selection means preferably enables only engagement of the aforementioned locating means with the aforementioned first engaging portion and the aforementioned second engaging portion, and disables engagement with the aforementioned intermediate engaging portion.
Preferably, the aforementioned locating means has an engaging member engaging with the aforementioned first engaging portion, the aforementioned second engaging portion and the aforementioned intermediate engaging portion, the aforementioned first engaging portion, the aforementioned second engaging portion and the aforementioned intermediate engaging portion have a plurality of holes provided stepwise, and the aforementioned selection means has a plate member sliding along the aforementioned holes for opening the aforementioned first engaging portion, the aforementioned second engaging portion and the aforementioned intermediate engaging portion on a first position while opening the aforementioned first engaging portion and closing the aforementioned second engaging portion and the aforementioned intermediate engaging portion on a second position.
On the other hand, the aforementioned selection means preferably has a plate member sliding along the aforementioned holes for opening the aforementioned first engaging portion, the aforementioned second engaging portion and the aforementioned intermediate engaging portion on a first position while opening the aforementioned first engaging portion and the aforementioned second engaging portion and closing the aforementioned intermediate engaging portion on a second position.
Further, preferably, the aforementioned second engaging portion and the aforementioned intermediate engaging portion are provided in positions separated or spaced from the aforementioned locating means more than the aforementioned first engaging portion, and the aforementioned locating means has an engaging member adjusted in projection length to engage with only the aforementioned first engaging portion while not engaging with the aforementioned second engaging portion and the aforementioned intermediate engaging portion.
Further, preferably, the aforementioned intermediate engaging portion is provided in a position separated or spaced from the aforementioned locating means more than the aforementioned first engaging portion and the aforementioned second engaging portion, and the aforementioned locating means has an engaging member adjusted in projection length to engage with the aforementioned first engaging portion and the aforementioned second engaging portion while not engaging with the aforementioned intermediate engaging portion.
Preferably, the aforementioned selection means has lock means for fixing mutual positional relation between the aforementioned seat portion and the aforementioned backrest portion in order to maintain the bed face state substantially flattening the aforementioned seat portion and the aforementioned backrest portion.